Wisconsin legislators are calling on the U.S. Senate to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, which would result in a loss of millions in funding to the state if not restored.

The act provides $7.5 million in federal funding to Wisconsin each year to be used for supporting child advocacy centers, sexual assault prevention programs, special prosecution units and other local violence prevention measures. 

Sen. Lena Taylor, D-Milwaukee, sent a letter to Congress on Monday, along with 35 other state legislators. The letter urged both of Wisconsin’s U.S. senators to support the act when it comes to vote later this week. 

Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wisconsin, was a co-sponsor of the bill and, pending any major changes in the next few days, will vote for the bill when it comes to the floor later this week, according to spokesperson Dawn Schueller.

In an email to The Badger Herald, the office of Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, did not say whether he would vote for the bill or not.

While the statement said it is critical to ensure that laws are in place to prevent and deter crime against both women and men, Johnson said the act has become “laden with a number of unrelated, controversial provisions.” 
  

Johnson’s statement added he hopes the Senate has an opportunity to debate the bill in an open and transparent process, which would allow the Senate to address these concerns in a bipartisan way. 

According to Eric Peterson, Taylor’s chief of staff, the reauthorization is now in danger because of a “pushback” from the GOP in Congress. 

“We’re hearing the rhetoric from Washington that to expand this to include certain immigration or LGBT persons that were never a part of the Violence Against Women Act before would be a problem,” Peterson said.

Taylor supports the funding currently provided in the act allocated for Wisconsin, according to Peterson. 

Enacted in 1994 by current Vice President Joe Biden, the act was successfully reauthorized in 2000 and 2005 with the support of both parties. 

Attorney General Eric Holder defended the legislation in a statement last week and said fulfilling this commitment has never been more urgent after estimates show more than two million adults and more than 15 million children are exposed to domestic violence every single year.  

In purely economic terms, Holder said domestic violence costs our nation $8 billion annually in lost productivity and health care costs.

Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault spokesperson Stephen Montagna said funding like this act provides has been in desperate need since the economic crisis. He said when pressures of an economic crisis are added to domestic situations they can cause violence and assault rates to go up.

“Sexual assault service providers are losing funds, yet the state has seen an increase in requests for services,” Montagna said. “The community is saying we need more and the services are being severely impacted because of it.”

Rep. Dick Spanbauer, R-Oshkosh, was the only Republican in the Legislature to sign Taylor’s letter to the U.S. Senate but did not return calls for comment. 

However, the act has found support by several Republican senators, including Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nevada, and Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, who came out with statements throughout the last two days supporting the act.